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Go nuts! Don't feel bad about eating nuts—these much-maligned morsels are actually good for you
You're at a cocktail party when you spot them across the room, near the bar: a bowl of mixed nuts. Before you know it, you're talking with friends while popping nuts into your mouth. You kick yourself later--you know better than to indulge in such fatty snacks. If this sounds familiar, take heart. Believe it or not, there are good reasons to make nuts part of your everyday diet.
Heart Protection in a Shell
Two hundred and twenty thousand people can't be wrong. That's the total number of subjects in several lifestyle studies, including the Iowa Women's Health Study, the Nurses' Health Study, and the Adventist Health Study, that link consumption of nuts with decreased risk of heart disease. A review of the studies, published in Current Atherosclerosis Reports in 1999, calls the results "remarkably consistent."
Nuts stand out as heart healthy for two main reasons--protein and fat, according to Gene Spiller, director of the Sphera Foundation and Health Research and Studies Center in Los Altos, Calif. The protein in nuts is high in arginine, an amino acid that relaxes blood vessels. The fat in nuts is mostly unsaturated so it lowers blood cholesterol. And components of the fat called phytosterols (the plant counterpart of cholesterol) inhibit fatty acid absorption in arteries. Spiller points out that there are plenty of other ways that nuts protect your heart. The vitamin E in nuts helps prevent oxidation of cholesterol, which leads to fatty buildup in the arteries. Folate lowers homocysteine levels in the blood (high levels of homocysteine are a strong predictor of heart disease). And calcium, magnesium, and potassium lower blood pressure.
Crunchy Cancer Fighters
The same fat and protein in nuts that help protect your heart also fight cancer. Beta-sitosterol, one of the phytosterols in nuts, can suppress breast and prostate tumors, according to several studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Atif Awad, Ph.D., R.D., a food scientist who has conducted much of the research, says these studies support similar epidemiological evidence: People with diets high in phytosterols have low rates of breast and prostate cancer. Arginine has also been shown to inhibit tumor growth and it enhances immunity. All nuts are good sources of fat and protein but some nuts also stand out because of their other anti-cancer compounds. Tests show cancer-combating benefits in ellagic acid, found mainly in walnuts; vitamin E, found mostly in almonds; and selenium, abundant in Brazil nuts.
Slender Snack
It seems too good to be true, but eating nuts can be an effective weight-loss tool. A recent study conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that dieters on a calorie-controlled 35-percent-fat plan including nuts and other good fats lost as much weight as dieters on a 20-percent-fat plan. More important, the moderate-fat group said satisfaction was the key to maintaining their weight loss more successfully than the low-fat group over the 18-month test period and beyond. Kathy McManus, R.D., a dietitian and co-investigator of the study, says that people allowed to snack on nuts, sprinkle nuts on salads, and smear nut butter on toast reported that they weren't as hungry. They also felt good about their diets and tended to eat healthier food.
Of course, to stay slim you can't really go nuts with nuts. Portion control is important. An ounce of nuts, which is a small handful, or about a quarter cup, contains between 160 and 200 calories and between 12 and 22 g of fat. "Eat them slowly, one at a time, rather than throwing them into your mouth," recommends McManus. Or buy nuts in the shell, so it will take you longer to eat them.
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nuts, weight loss, vitamins, cancer, heart
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